


Just Say It

by Lavendertwilight89, SapphireStarxx



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, First Kiss, Fix-It, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 19:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29069784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavendertwilight89/pseuds/Lavendertwilight89, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphireStarxx/pseuds/SapphireStarxx
Summary: After visiting with Yuka, Ayumi and Eri, Inuyasha questions Kagome about what a date is--will he like her answer?
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha
Comments: 15
Kudos: 93





	Just Say It

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MamaBearCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaBearCat/gifts).



> This is for our MamaBearCat!!! Enjoy the fluffy goodness!

“What's a date, Kagome?”

Kagome tore her eyes away from where Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi had made their exit from the shrine, to the half-demon standing next to her. 

They had insisted upon meeting him since he had followed her home and was trying to fix her new bike while she was at school. Once they had their fill, they left, leaving her with a now overly questioning hanyou. He had jumped from her bedroom window once the coast was clear, obviously impatient to talk to her, and tore the bandana covering his ears off, making a face at the offending material. She didn’t think anything would have surprised her more than seeing Inuyasha just casually sitting on the floor of her room, chatting with her three friends with an even temper. Evidently, she was wrong. Now he was here, questioning her about modern dating customs. Gulp.

“Where...why are you asking that?” she managed, unsure how to really reply to the surly half-demon who loomed over her.

Inuyasha turned his golden gaze onto her and she felt her heart constrict in that painfully sweet way it always did when he looked into her eyes, the way he seemed to study her so intently with his amber gaze... The feeling turned into mild panic by the next words out of his mouth:

“Your friends were sayin’ somethin ‘bout how you went on a ‘date’ with a Hojo.” Inuyasha scratched an ear, then crossed his arms over his chest, waiting expectantly for her answer.

“I...I see,” she replied faintly. 

“Well?” he said impatiently, one of his adorably fluffy ears flicking. He was slightly angry at the thought of Kagome doing anything with another male. The hanyou knew he shouldn’t be, but just the idea that there was another guy aside from Koga he had to compete with for her attention was already making his youkai itch.

Kagome swallowed, trying to choose her words carefully. It figured her friends would manage to put herself into this kind of position with him. Ugh. 

“It’s...well, when you spend some time with someone you like for a few hours or a day. Get to know each other better.”

“So kinda like what ya do with me?” he questioned, hoping it wasn’t that intimate of an interaction.

“Not...not quite. Think of it like...courting?”

Inuyasha scowled, dark brows furrowed in displeasure at this information. “Why the hell are ya courting a guy, Kagome?”

“I--I wasn’t! I’m not! Hojo was the one who asked me out--”

That clearly wasn’t a better answer.

“--but you still went with him?” His temper didn’t seem to dissipate, but now she could also see the hurt that was beginning to swirl within his amber orbs.

“Listen here, buddy. You were the one who shoved me down the well without any jewel shards to get back!”

“I was protectin’ ya! Not to mention that was a long ass time ago!”

“While I kind of understand that, I still accepted it at the time since I wasn’t even sure you were coming back for me! It obviously didn’t work out, otherwise I wouldn’t still be traveling around feudal Japan all the time! Why do you care so much?”

“No reason,” he said as he turned away, not allowing her to look at his face as he knew it would show the unmasked feeling of rejection.

“Inuyasha--”

“Go finish your stupid work so we can get the fuck back to hunting for the jewel Naraku has,” he muttered before leaping off. 

“Inuyasha!” Kagome cried in desperation. The hanyou was gone and she felt her knees give out as she gazed off to where he had taken off to. To say she was frustrated was an understatement. She felt like the way he ran off was a way for him to protect himself, although from  _ what _ she wasn’t entirely sure. She knew the reason she  _ wanted _ it to be, but felt foolish for expecting that of him. Because sometimes she thought that maybe, just  _ maybe _ , he felt the same way she did about him.

“Seriously? What an idiot...” she muttered, although she wasn’t sure if she was talking about Inuyasha or herself. He only needed her to finish their quest for the jewel; after that--after that there would be no reason for her in the past. It wasn’t like she truly belonged there anyway; not when Inuyasha had Kikyo, after all.

****

Inuyasha was in a foul mood when he emerged from the well. Dammit, why had that conversation bothered him so much? It wasn’t like he had expected anything else, but when forced to face it, well, it was like a punch to the gut. Literally. Sesshomaru’s hand through his stomach had hurt less. So Kagome wanted to pursue other guys, so what? What did that have to do with him?

“Inuyasha! Where’s Kagome?” Shippo’s annoying voice reached his ears and he almost snarled, not in the mood.

“Not here.”

“But why--”

“Just leave me the fuck alone!” he said harshly, turning his back and leaping into the trees of the forest for some semblance of privacy. He knew the others were aware that the goshinboku was his go-to place for alone time, and they at least had the sense and courtesy to leave him be. Most of the time anyways.

Shippo sputtered behind him, and he heard Miroku come up to reassure the kit, saying something along the lines of, “Just leave him. He clearly has much to think about.”

Putting them out of his mind and settling his back against the tree that had been the start of it all between him and Kagome, his thoughts turned. So maybe he shouldn’t have run away from her like a fucking idiot. God, could he be any more obvious? 

It had seemed like an innocent enough question at the time. And maybe he should have stayed to hear her out, but protecting his guarded heart was like second nature, causing him to react before thinking. Not to mention, it wasn’t fair of him to expect her to not want to be with other guys. What could he possibly have to offer her, after all? 

He was an outcast with nothing to his name except the clothes on his back. A dirty half-breed with an obligation to a revenant priestess with deep ties to his past. Kikyo had always been a point of contention between him and Kagome, and even though she had said she would stay by his side anyways, that didn’t mean anything beyond those exact words. He knew that even if some part of her understood his need to keep Kikyo safe, it still hurt her. 

And he knew the reason it hurt Kagome-- or at least the reason he hoped. But maybe that was just his wishful thinking.

Fear gripped his heart. Inuyasha honestly didn’t want to hear if she wanted to pursue men in her time because he knew he didn’t belong there either. She always made him cover his ears, demanded he not wander outside of the shrine until she made it home from school--

A man from her era, a weak ass human, would be able to take care of her better than he could… That man would be able to provide for her in their weird modern ways, they’d have shelter, and he’d probably be able to voice his feelings better than Inuyasha ever could. All he seemed to do was hurt her and throw in her face how she had to stay in his era so they could find the jewel so they could defeat Naraku...

So maybe he was the asshole. 

Inuyasha groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. Fuck. He needed to swallow his pride and go back and get her. If she even wanted to see him after the way he had just up and left. The hanyou knew he had hurt her. Again. All because he didn’t want to face the ever-growing reality that Kagome could very well choose to never return to his era when their quest was completed--that she could very well choose to go home, as nothing would be keeping her there.

Sighing in exasperation, he rose from his sitting position and made his way back to the well at a slower pace. It was time to face Kagome and likely get answers he wasn’t really sure he wanted just yet; but it would maybe put his mind at ease. If nothing else, it would finally lay all of these uncertainties to rest and he could finally be clear on where they stood with each other.

Regardless of her answer, Inuyasha knew they could enjoy the time they had with one another until Naraku was gone. So maybe he needed this closure.

Leaping into the well and back into Kagome’s era, he allowed the mystical black and blue vortex to swallow him until his senses were assaulted with the loud noises and putrid smells of pollution from her time. He jumped out and walked through the opening and made his way over to stand below Kagome’s window. 

He could still smell her nearby, knew she was inside. And she had left the window open, a sign that she wasn’t truly angry with him for how he’d acted…and the action only made him feel worse. She was always so forgiving, so generous with him, more than he ever deserved. 

Kagome was the kindest person he had ever known. The first person to ever really  _ show _ him true kindness aside from Kikyo, and the first person to ever accept him for who he was. Again, feelings of unworthiness rose up inside of him and he forced himself to shrug them off, leaping up to the ledge of her window instead. 

She was sitting at her desk, hard at work on one of her ‘spells’ to fight the ‘tests’ she had to battle. Some weak ass demon she wouldn’t let him fight for her, and something he still didn’t entirely understand.

Kagome looked up at his entrance, slightly startled at his sudden appearance. She, truthfully, hadn't been expecting him back so soon. Blinking at him, a rush of emotions welled up inside of her. Relief, annoyance, anxiety, and the affection she always carried for him within her heart no matter how upset she was at him. 

“Whaddya mean it didn’t work out?” Inuyasha demanded, eyes serious.

What…? Kagome blinked again, the gears of her mind turning as she tried to figure out what exactly he was talking about. He was looking at her so earnestly, perched on her windowsill, and she couldn’t help but find the sight endearing. Still--

“I’m sorry, what?? And _ hello _ to you, too,” she said turning in her chair to fully face him.

“Before--you said that date didn’t work out with that Hobo kid. What didja mean?”

Oh brother. He was bringing this up again, was he? Obviously whatever he had to think about didn’t totally clear his mind like usual. Whenever he stormed off, usually it was a dropped topic. The fact he still wanted to discuss her dating life made her nervous--since there wasn’t  _ anything _ to really even talk about. Kagome sighed, putting her pencil down and pushing out her chair to better face him. “It’s pretty self-explanatory. It didn’t work out. Not to mention I have other responsibilities I have to take care of… So I don’t really have time for any of that.”

“But why?” Inuyasha’s feet touched down onto her floor and he stood over her, looking down at her intently. 

“It...it just didn’t. Sometimes it just doesn’t work between two people. And obviously the jewel--Naraku?? School is even harder to attend when I’m being pulled all over your era.”

“I get that!” Inuyasha snapped impatiently. “I’m askin’ _why_ it didn’t work between you and him. There’s always a fuckin’ reason! _”_

Kagome stood up, annoyance warring with confusion. “I don’t know what you want me to say! It just  _ didn’t _ . There isn’t a really great reason as to why aside from: It. Just. Didn’t!!”

“I wanna know why, dammit! Stop hiding shit!!”

“I didn’t like Hojo!”

“Why?”

“What?! What do you mean ‘why’?? I just don’t!”

“Didn’t seem to stop you from goin’ out with him.”

“That doesn’t mean I liked him!!”

“Then why bother go out with the puny fuck?!”

“I don’t know! I guess I needed a distraction!” Oh cripes! 

“From what?!!”

“Nothing! Nevermind! Just drop it!” she yelled in exasperation.

“What are you hiding?! Why did you need a distraction!? You just said how you’re soooo busy! Why add more to your plate if you don’t like the jackass?!”

“First off, Hojo is not a--he’s a nice guy! There’s nothing wrong with him! I just don’t like him like that! And God! You’re like a dog with a bone--”   
  


“Stop making fucking excuses and just tell me why you stopped courting him!!”

“It didn’t work out because he wasn’t you, you jerk!!!!” She shouted before she could control her treacherous thoughts. Then immediately covered her mouth with her hands, as if she could take the words back.

Inuyasha stared at her, his eyes as wide as hers. For a long moment neither of them said anything. Kagome’s heart pounded wildly in her chest, her cheeks heating with a blush. Oh God, what had she just admitted to??

"He...wasn't me?" Inuyasha repeated, taking a step closer. 

Her body shook from embarrassment, her eyes pricked with tears from her foolishness, and then her mouth began to run without any form of filter trying to dig herself out of the hole her mouth had gotten her into. “I--I was worried about you when you shoved me down the well and I really was trying to get back at you by going out with Hojo and then when we were out I just couldn't stop thinking about you and worrying that you had succumbed to your injuries because you still hadn’t come to get me and I realized that I shouldn’t have been out with Hojo--I should have been fighting to get back to make sure you were okay and--”

“So… I’m the one who just messed it up for you,” Inuyasha surmised. Well that just made him feel even lower. Kagome had been trying to move on with her life and he yet again stopped her. 

“That’s not what I’m saying either!” What was his problem!? Was he really that dense?!? 

“Whatever. Whenever you’re ready we can head back,” he relayed avoiding eye contact. He needed some air. His hope that he thought he had control over had leapt into his throat when she proclaimed the Hobo-person wasn’t him. His heart had fluttered and he thought maybe--just maybe she was going to say it was because she had feelings for him--a hanyou… Then she went and blabbered on and on about why…

Her hand reached out gripping his haori sleeve, “No! We need to talk about this!”

“What is there to talk about?” Inuyasha returned, starting to pull his arm from her grip.

Kagome tugged at his sleeve, saying the two words she knew would force him to stay.

“Sit boy!!”

Inuyasha turned around, already taking a step back towards her when the command left her mouth. His eyes went wide. Her lips parted in realization of her mistake. He slammed to the floor of her bedroom, taking Kagome down with him, his face buried in her shoulder.

Kagome let out a tiny  _ oof  _ of surprise, feeling the wind get knocked out of her as this huge half-demon came crashing down on top of her with all the force of the subjugation beads. That would definitely bruise. Was this what it was always like for him when she sat him? Dear lord, she felt a little sorry for all the times she had done this, although his body was a lot more sturdy than her own. Not to mention he deserved it  _ at least _ half the time. Like  _ now _ for instance. Trying to run away when she had practically confessed her feelings?

When she could breathe again she tried to wiggle out from beneath him but found herself firmly pinned by his body weight. A blush began to heat her cheeks as the reality of their situation hit her; Inuyasha wouldn’t be able to move for a while yet, held down by the spell of the beads. The rhythm of her heart stuttered before pounding wildly in her chest. Oh God. Well, this was perfect.

“Um, Inuyasha?” she tried.

“Mwhut?” came the muffled and annoyed growl at her shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she sighed.

“Yea, yea, probably deserved it since I keep running off,” he scoffed without heat. She felt his breath hit her shoulder and it caused her to shudder at the proximity, amongst other things.

“No… You didn’t. I--I just--I know I hurt your feelings. I don’t know why or how, but--I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

Inuyasha, while he was pressed into Kagome lithe body by the stupid beads, sank into her further, inhaling her beautiful jasmine and honey scent like it was a drug. “I know. You know I’m great with feelings and crap.”

“It’s alright that you don’t feel the same; I didn’t expect you to--and you shouldn’t be hurt or feel bad knowing how I feel. I know you love Kikyo and--and that’s okay. I know what I signed up for when I asked to stay by your side.”

“Wench--”

“No, honestly. It’s fine. I just don’t want us to keep tip-toeing around this, alright? I want us to be fine.”

“Shut up, would’ja?? The fact you’re assumin’ my feelings for you aren’t the same is bullshit, first of all. Secondly--”

“Wait a second--”

“--for fuck’s sake, woman, can I get a--”

“--what do you  _ mean _ that I assumed incorrectly?”

Both of them went silent and Inuyasha got to his knees above her, finally able to move again. Kagome swallowed, looking up into his eyes as he loomed over her. Hope bloomed in her chest, warring with her fear of being crushed by disappointment. 

“You gonna let me fuckin’ talk?”

“I’m listening,” Kagome replied, her voice somehow steady despite the slight tremble in her body. His next words would define the rest of their relationship. Make it real, no matter which way it went. 

“ _ Secondly,” _ Inuyasha continued, averting his face from her own, “I don’t love Kikyo. I mean, I used to yeah. But those feelings died a long time ago, around the same time she did. I’ll always care about her, but… it’s not the same. It isn’t how I feel about you.”

Kagome tried to control her tumultuous heart, the heat rushing through her body as his cheeks tinted with a hint of pink as his golden gaze wouldn’t meet hers. Sitting up, she swallowed hard, the thump in her throat from excitement and anxiety, she cupped his cheek and he willingly followed with a scowl--not from anger or upset… but from protection. He was just as scared as she was of rejection. Maybe he was even more afraid because she was willing to take the final leap to show him the genuine care and trust she held in him.

She leaned in before she could talk herself out of it and kissed his cheek, scarcely daring to breathe. Inuyasha didn’t move for a heartbeat and Kagome started to doubt her decision when his face turned towards hers, mere inches away. The heat inside her was reflected in his amber gaze and he leaned closer, bridging the gap between them. Any doubt was chased away when his lips met hers.

It was soft at first, almost hesitant. As if neither of them were sure that this was finally happening. That it was real. But the feel of his lips against hers was unmistakable, and Kagome pressed herself closer. Her hands entwined themselves into his haori, her lips continually seeking his. Pouring all her pent up feelings, all her  _ love _ , into this one kiss. 

Inuyasha growled softly, a hand threading into her hair while his other arm wrapped around her, finally embracing her the way he had longed to--the way he could only do when she was injured or unconscious because there was no way for her to fight him off or yell at him…

But now he regretted never holding her close every moment they ever had alone as his lips fought for dominance over her own, longing to taste her sweetness to see if it was just as intoxicating as her scent. His tongue brushed against her lower lip and she immediately granted him entrance. Her whine and mewl of happiness kept him in control. While he knew ultimately what he wanted--what they both wanted, it would have to wait until their journey and quest was completed.

Pulling away, Inuyasha gazed down into the dark brown eyes that were filled with so much love and happiness. He kissed her forehead and exhaled roughly.

“I love you, Inuyasha,” Kagome said breathily.

“I--...” Inuyasha swallowed uneasily. Had he ever said he loved anyone except his mother before? He had never even told Kikyo he had cared about her… And the moment had passed.

“I know,” Kagome interrupted as she tried to press herself into his chest as her arms wove around his body. 

He quickly caught her face and brought it back to his and she looked startled by the action. She knew he was a man who had trouble with words, that his actions alone made up for some of the idiotic things that flew out of his mouth. 

“Inu--?”

“I… I love you, Kagome. I’ve--I’ve never… Not since my mother and I--I needed to--”

She silenced him with another kiss and he happily reciprocated. They kissed into the evening, missing dinner as they were filling themselves with gentle touches and low whispers they had missed out on their last year of travel together. 

  
  



End file.
